In the Shadow of War Kamparas Saga Part 2
by M. Andrew Sorensen
Summary: At a time of war, one young pilot will find her path in the galaxy.Takes place during the New Jedi Order, one spoiler toward the endAny continuity errors are solely those of this author


"_Shadow, _break left, there's a skip on your tail!"

Jan didn't answer the comm. She threw her fighter into a hard left turn, her vision going gray at the edges from the force of the turn. A bright ball of super-heated rock flew through the space she had just left.

"Thanks, Dennak," Janella commed to the fighter that had warned her. "Renshir to _Wicked Sensation,_" she called on the open channel.

"_Sensation _here," came a nervous-sounding voice, "Things are a little tense here, _Shadow_"

"Hadn't noticed," she said under her breath. "_Sensation_, primary exit vector is closed. The Vong have it shut up tight. Set course for secondary vector and jump. I can't leave until I know those supplies are on the way to Skywalker."

"Copy, _Shadow_, setting secondary course, jumping in five."

Janella, feeling a now-familiar sensation move through her body, yanked the controls up and to the right. She noticed a coralskipper blast into the area she had just been in.

Janella saw the flash of light from the old bulk freighter as it made the jump to light speed, and she decided it was time to go.

"_Shadow _to Mynock squadron. The nerf is out of the pen, head out after it. I'll close the gate behind us."

"Mynock One to _Shadow_, copy, we'll see you later."

With that, one by one, Janella Renshir watched her back-up leap to light speed. That feeling she had gotten stayed with her, driving her hands on the controls and keeping her one step ahead of the plasma weaponry of the Yuuzhan Vong.

"All right, Cas," she said to herself and her unseen companion, "Let's go home."

**In the Shadow of War**

**(Part 2 of The Kamparas Trilogy)**

Walking the streets of Ryhn City, Janella wondered why she had wanted to leave. Growing up on Coruscant, she had always considered that city-planet her home. Now she realized how much she appreciated the quiet of Kamparas. So far, the Yuuzhan Vong had decided Kamparas wasn't worth their time, so she had set up her base of operations here, in her adopted home. Three years earlier, Janella Renshir was just another teenager, working to earn her way back home. The discovery of an old beat-up starfighter had changed all of that.

The starfighter had belonged to a Jedi Master named Cas Istyn, decades before she was even born. Istyn had been killed in the Clone War, defending the Jedi training center on Kamparas. Killed when his cockpit was hit, Istyn's fighter had crashed into the countryside on the outskirts of Ryhn City on Kamparas. Dug out of the ground years later, the ship was sold to a scrap yard, which is where Janella had found it.

Master Istyn, as he was dying, had managed to tie his "Force essence" into the fighter, and when Janella came across the ship, the spirit of Master Istyn became connected to her. While Janella had no Force talents of her own, she could perform numerous feats, acting as a channel for the deceased Jedi Master.

For almost a year, Janella used the restored fighter and Master Istyn's powers to act as a guard for her friend Neme Llows' shipping concern. Then, just a year ago, the galaxy as a whole was invaded by the Yuuzhan Vong. The Vong were a militant race, worshippers of pain, and totally unforgiving to the "infidels" of this galaxy.

When the Vong started driving populations from their home, the Republic government had established a refugee supply line. Neme Llows had turned the efforts of her shipping line to helping SELCORE, or the Senate Select Committee on Refugees.

Janella, no longer needed to guard the Llows ships, had contacted Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and offered her services. In the last year and a half, she had gone back to guard duty, but this time she was guarding the lives of Jedi Knights, Jedi students, and any ship that was working for Master Skywalker's Jedi underground. The Vong had singled out the Jedi for special attention, and there were citizens of the galaxy who believed if they turned over the Jedi, the Vong would leave them alone. Janella's job was to make sure those citizens never got the chance.

She shook her head, clearing it of wistful thoughts as she approached the offices of Llows' Shipping. Walking through the front door, Janella noticed the changes from the first time she had been here. Then, this had been a clean, sharp lobby, with polished floors and a reception droid behind a desk. Now the lobby had been converted into sleeping areas for the pilots of Llows Shipping and others who were working with SELCORE. There was noise, though it was subdued, as the crews talked, laughed, and traded war stories. She walked down the central corridor, arranged by the moveable dividers that had been set up, and took the turbolift to the third floor of the building.

Janella knocked on the door that said simply "Neme Llows, President" then walked into the office of her friend. Neme was on the comm with someone, and apparently the call was not going as well as she had hoped. She glanced up at Janella, waving her into the office.

"Senator, I know resources are tight all around," Neme was saying, "but I need fuel and consumables for my crews if you want us to be able to take supplies to the refugees. I'm not asking for dedicated resources, I just want permission to use the Republic Navy replenishment ships when we're near them."

The voice from the comm sounded haughty and somewhat uninterested.

"Ms. Llows, I will pass that request along to the military committee, but I don't expect an answer you'll like. I have very little pull over those commanders."

"Senator Shesh, I appreciate the position you're in, but I can't help feed refugees if I can't feed my own crews."

"And I understand that, Ms. Llows. I will make the request, and hope for the best."

With that, the comm screen went blank. Neme sat back in her chair and let out a frustrated sigh.

"I swear that woman would rather the Vong own the galaxy than lift a finger to help."

"I guess I don't need to ask how things are going," Janella said, dropping into the chair in front of the large desk.

"Actually, it's not as bad as it sounded. We're getting a lot of local support for the refugees. I just get so agitated dealing with SELCORE. That's life when you work for the bureaucrats, I guess. So what brings you back here? I thought you were out shooting up the Vong?"

"Well, right now all the Jedi are where they need to be, so I came to see if you needed any help before the great Master Skywalker calls again."

"You say that like you resent his asking for help"

It was Janella's turn to sigh. "It's not that. I'm glad to be helping. I just get tired of some of the Jedi looking at me like I'm a glorified chauffer. I'm not a Jedi, but I could still show them a thing or two." She hesitated. "I don't think Master Istyn would appreciate that, though."

Neme laughed. "No, I don't think the esteemed Jedi Master would like you tossing his successors around just to prove a point. Come on, let me buy you some lunch."

Watching the people passing by the outdoor cantina, Janella could almost imagine that the galaxy wasn't in a desperate fight for survival.

"Lot of foot traffic away from the hangers," she commented, watching the crowd.

"Yeah," Neme said, "Kamparas has decided to set up a refugee site for a few thousand refugees. They're doing it quietly, haven't told the Senate about it. The leadership here is trying to keep the Peace Brigade or anyone else from learning about it."

"Mmmm," Janella grumbled around a mouthful of _chirkan_-steak. "That's not a bad idea. It seems like every other refugee colony makes the next hit-list."

Before Neme could answer, her comlink chirped at her.

"Llows here," she said, answering the page.

"Ms. Llows, we just received an urgent request from Master Skywalker. He needs to speak with you or Ms. Renshir immediately."

"All right, Jovan. We're on our way back to the office. What's wrong?" Neme asked after seeing the look of worry on Jan's face.

Janella looked Neme right in the eye, "I didn't tell him where I was going."

"Master Skywalker, this is Neme Llows. Janella is here with me. What can we do for you today?"

Renshir and Llows were back in Neme's office. Skywalker had contacted them through a series of relays, so the signal was grainy.

"Ms. Llows, my sister has told me how much you've helped the refugees, and I already know how big of a help Janella has been. I figured Janella would have come back there, and it looks like I guessed right. I need to ask a favor from both of you. The Jedi sanctuary I have set up isn't going to remain hidden forever. I've asked Lando Calrissian to set up a new haven for the Jedi. He has agreed, but he needs supplies to set up the base."

"Master Skywalker, you know you have our support. Any ships I have are at your disposal."

"Thank you for that, Ms. Llows. This mission, though, requires the utmost in security. And I need only one ship."

"I'm not sure I understand," Neme said, confused.

"What I need," Skywalker said slowly, "is your fastest ship. Cargo capacity is less of an issue than speed, but it would need to hold, say, the same as an Action VI transport. And one last condition…"

Neme could hear the hesitation in his voice. She looked to Janella, who just shrugged. She had no idea what this request was, either.

"Name it," she said.

"The crew for this mission can consist of only yourself and Janella."

The silence that followed was only broken by the sound of more ships arriving at the starport.

"Master Skywalker," Neme finally said, "a ship that size would need would have a crew of seven, though we _might_ be able to get by with four."

"Ms. Llows, I can't give you the details of this mission on the comm frequencies. Please, prepare the ship you need. Janella can use her…gift…to help you fly the craft. She knows where to find me, and I'll explain everything when you get here."

"Master, please, I know you understand that I need a larger crew….."

Neme trailed off when she glanced at her friend. Janella was staring off into the distance. Without looking back to Neme, she spoke quietly.

"We'll be there shortly, Master Skywalker. I'll explain everything to Neme on the way."

"Welcome to Eclipse, Neme. And welcome back, Janella. Thank you for coming so quickly."

Luke Skywalker wasn't a tall man, but he had an astounding presence. Neme had met him once before, but she was still awed to be here.

Eclipse, the hidden Jedi Sanctuary, was built inside a hollow asteroid. Janella had plotted the course, and then navigated through several diversionary jumps in case anyone was following them. Neme still had no idea where they were.

"Sorry for the complicated travel route," Skywalker continued. "I'm sure you can understand our need for security."

"Yes, of course. Thinking of Janella as a Jedi is something I'm used to, but actually having her is still quite an honour."

"Well, we're pretty glad to have her help. Come on, let's go to my quarters and I'll explain the run I need you to make, then you'll understand why I needed such a specialized crew."

Janella and Neme followed Skywalker down the main corridor of the base. There were storage lockers lining the hall on both sides, though most seemed empty. The ceiling of the hall was bare rock with long glow panels hanging down.

"Interesting hang-out you have here, Jan. Not quite as lively as Hyperdrive, but _way_ more exclusive."

Janella laughed. Hyperdrive was the club that she and Neme used to frequent before the war started. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Skywalker's quarters were sparse, but there were seats for the three of them. Skywalker led them into the seating area, then went to the food prep area and made three drinks.

"Ladies," he said, handing them each a cup, "let me tell you why you're here. As I said, this station isn't going to stay hidden forever. With the help of Lando's industrial know-how, we're building a more secure base of operations. The new base will be home to the Jedi students as well as a possible staging area for our missions against the Vong."

"That much is easy to understand, as is the need for cargo capacity to move the material needed for the construction. It's the small crew that I don't get," Janella said. Neme nodded agreement.

"Well, the limited crew isn't really a big deal. Obviously, the fewer people who know the location of the new base, the more secure it is. The real issue is who makes up that crew. Neme, Janella trusts you as a sister. I know that from talking to her, and that's _without_ the feelings I get between you through the Force. I need Janella, because getting to the location is going to be the hard part."

"I'm still not sure I….."

"The new base is being built in the Maw."

Neme set her cup down on the table in front of her before she dropped it.

"Master Skywalker, flying into the Maw is nearly impossible as it is, but with a crew of just two…"

"That's why I need Janella, Ms. Llows. Jedi can travel the Maw using the Force to feel their way through the gravity fields. Right now, the Jedi are either in hiding or deployed, so we need Janella. With her connection to Master Istyn, Janella can navigate the Maw, plus she's wouldn't be watched like known Jedi."

Neme sat back in her chair, deep in thought.

"The Maw…" she mumbled. "What type of cargo do I need to run, Master Skywalker?" Neme didn't take long to make up her mind about matters this important.

"Just the normal things you need for setting up any secret base," Skywalker said, and somehow managed to say it with a straight face. "You know, rations, spare parts, that sort of thing. And now that I've given you the big shock of the Maw, there's another hitch in the run."

Neme chuckled softly. "Of course, Master Skywalker, I'd hate to have an _easy_ run through a cluster of black holes."

"The supplies are on Acacia. The run would go from here to there, then to the Maw installation. The Vong don't have any of that area guarded themselves, but the whole area is basically recognized as Peace Brigade space. The supplies are being guarded, but we're not sure how much longer they'll be safe."

Jan nodded. She knew the story, just not the players.

"Who do you have on that job?" she asked.

"Kylan Karris. He's a young Jedi, only a year or two older than you."

Janella looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't think I've met him."

"No," Skywalker said, "He's been running missions for me, trying to infiltrate, or at least identify, Peace Brigade centers. That's why I assigned him to the Acacia depot. The locals there have seen him around, so he's not such a stranger in the area."

"Well, I think we have the hauling capacity for you. I brought the _Llows Endeavor, _and she can carry a healthy load. Plus, there's room for our secret weapon." Neme said with a sly grin.

Skywalker looked at her curiously, waiting to hear the secret.

"Back when we were just running cargo," Janella explained, "we were having a lot of trouble with the Hydian Raiders. They learned pretty early to place sensors in their target areas. When they saw me in _Shadow_, they wouldn't try to jump us. Any of the ships that went out alone, though, were slammed. We decided to shut the Raiders down once and for all, so we added a proton torpedo slung underneath _Shadow_ and Neme had one of the cargo bays on the _Endeavor_ converted to a fighter bay."

Skywalker nodded. "That makes sense. I've done a few things like that myself over the years. Let me guess, you have the _Shadow_ here with you, right?"

"Yes, sir, and the fact that you didn't pick it up on the way in means we covered it well."

"How many torpedoes do you have in the launcher?"

Neme and Jan both chuckled.

"We don't have a launcher. We have one torpedo with a single launch rail and programmed by Able."

Luke stopped and thought about that for a moment.

"Well, that should give you a little more protection. Ladies, I'm sorry to have to rush you, but when we have your ship ready, we have to get you on the way. The newest reports show that the Brigade is getting anxious on Acacia."

"Understood, Master Skywalker," Neme said. "I'll go and make sure the _Endeavor_ is ready to go. We don't want to leave young Mr. Karris out there too long, do we?"

"Thank you for your help, Neme. You don't know what it means to have someone you can trust."

"It's my pleasure, Master. Jan, whenever you're ready…"

Janella started to stand, but Skywalker gestured to her for a moment.

"Jan, can I talk to you for a minute."

"I catch up with you in the bay, Jan," Neme said, then walked out the door.

"Master Skywalker, I know what you're going to ask…"

"Please," Skywalker said, "call me Luke."

"Ok, then, Luke. I know you're going to ask if I can tell you anything more about the old Jedi order."

"I know I've asked you before, but with so much going on, I could use any insight. I think it's more important than ever to get the Jedi Order closer to the way it was."

Janella shook her head. "I know why you keep asking, and I'm truly sorry I can't help you. When we originally talked, you said that I may have access to Istyn's memories, but it hasn't worked out that way. I can use the Force, but lately I haven't been. Trying to avoid the Peace Brigade is hard enough without throwing things around with a wave of my hand. Other than that, I get some flashes from his memories, but those are mostly from his last battle. Come to think of it, I still don't even know what Cas Istyn looks like." Janella sighed. "I know you want insight into the old Jedi Council, and I wish I could tell you more."

"I know, Jan. Thank you for humoring me again, but I had to try."

"Yes, sir, I know."

Luke stood, his face showing signs of disappointment. He turned to stare at the projection that pretended to be a window looking out at Coruscant. When he turned back, his face was composed as he walked over and took Janella's hand.

"Jan, I know not all of the Jedi appreciate the help that you give us, and I know that some of them even consider you just another support staff member."

Janella got a shiver; it was like Skywalker knew exactly what she had told Neme back at Ryhn City.

"If anyone gives you too much trouble, let me know, I'll take care of it."

Skywalker took two steps to the hutch in the corner of the living area and then came back with a datapad and flimsy strip with comm frequencies.

"When you get to Acacia, use frequency one, here, and use the code phrases. Karris will answer to Ewok on the comm channel. He knows the lay of the land, so he'll send you rendezvous coordinates and times to this datapad."

Janella read over the information on the flimsy.

"Ewok and Bantha are the call signs? You're just trying to see if I'll actually say this, aren't you?" Janella said with a grin.

"Yes," Skywalker said with a smile of his own. "But it will also keep you and Karris safe. There's also a few other notes and things on there that may be useful as some point."

"I understand. We'll let you know when we have the goods and are heading to the Maw."  
Jan left the quarters and made her way to the docking bay. She knew this run wouldn't be fun, but that feeling in the back of her mind told her this could be the most important mission of her life.

Janella brought her fighter down through the wispy clouds. Acacia was a lush, vibrant planet with its few settled areas behind heavy walls to keep the cities from developing out into the wild areas.

"_Endeavor,_ this is _Shadow_. Everything looks clear down here, go ahead and bring her on in." Janella then switched her comm to the frequency Skywalker had given her.

"Ewok, this is Bantha. Please respond."

The comm answered with static, so Jan tried the code-phrase again.

"Bantha, Ewok here," a deep voice answered.

"Ewok, send me the address for the party. I'd hate to be late again."

"It's on its way to your datapad. See you there." and the comm went back to static.

Jan watched her display scroll with Able's confirmation that the information had been received. The R4 unit took the transmission, redirecting it to the datapad from Luke for decryption. The last line on the screen was Able's indignant commentary on using a datapad for work he could have done.

"Yes, Able, but I didn't make the rules. I just have to play by them."

Keying her comm on her standard channel, Jan sent the coded message to Neme.

"_Endeavor,_ party invite received. We're on for tonight."

"Copy, _Shadow_. My gown is pressed and ready to go. Hope you bring me flowers," and Neme signed off laughing.

_Some people,_ Janella thought as she brought her fighter down, _have way too much fun with this cloak and blade stuff_.

Kylan Karris stood watching as the freighter settled into a near-by docking bay. The Jedi was anxious for the meeting with the ship's captain. The mission of guarding supplies, while important, was boring to the young man. He had friends on the front line, and he didn't want to be stuck babysitting rations and spare parts. This mission was scheduled to be his last for a while as part of the Great River. He was expecting a new assignment in the war when he was done here.

Making his way down the hill he was on, Kylan walked through the streets toward the landing bays. Taking a seat at a tapcafe across from bay 1138, where the ships had docked, he ordered a _lomin_-ale and relaxed, watching the foot and speeder traffic in the street. Having been on Acacia for several weeks, Kylan knew that the inbound customs could be very time consuming. The meeting was still a few hours off, but he wanted to see who it was he was going to be working with.

A small nudge through the Force caused Kylan to pay closer attention around him. At a table behind him, two men were talking in whispers. The young Jedi focused his Force-senses to better hear the conversation.

"Those damn Jedi are using us to move gear to their new base," the first voice was saying.

"Well, if we could find their base, we could turn them all over. We'd be running the Brigade inside a week." Local members of the Peace Brigade, obviously, Kylan thought to himself.

"Rumor has it the freighter that just landed is working with them," Voice One said again. "We could tag it, follow it, and take care of the rest of them."

Kylan smiled at the thought of the Peace Brigade "taking care" of a group of Jedi. The smile only lasted until he heard the next words.

"Nah, we'll let the Vong handle the base, but we can find the local contact and work the supply line back from here."

Hearing this, Kylan stood to leave. He left enough money on the table to cover his drink and walked away from the café. Using a slight push through the Force, Kylan made sure the Brigadiers' attention was elsewhere as he dashed across the street and through the docking bay doors.

Waving his hand at the Customs agent inside, Kylan walked straight to the processing desk where two women were trying to get all of their paperwork in the right order for the processing clerk.

"These ladies' paperwork is all in order," he said, the Force in his voice. "You can send the final copies to their hotel room."

"Of course," the clerk said with a smile, "Thank you for your cooperation, Captain Llows. Your paperwork will be at your hotel." With that, the clerk collected the paperwork, his guards, and left the bay.

"Ewok, I presume?" Janella asked.

"Yes, and you are Bantha, Captain Llows?" Kylan asked in return.

Janella took the offered hand. "I am Bantha, yes, but I'm not Captain Llows. I'm Janella Renshir, but you can call me Jan. This is Neme Llows, captain of the _Llows Endeavor_, and owner of Llows' shipping."

"Ok, I hate to be rude, Jan, but who's in charge of this mission?"

Jan and Neme shared a look. Neme nodded at Jan and turned, walking back to get her bag from the ship.

"Your boss sent us out here to pick you up with your gear," Jan said, still trying to keep the true nature of the mission concealed from any prying eyes or ears.

"Ok, then. We have some problems to take care of, that's why I moved up the meeting. Is it possible to take this inside, preferably where none of the crew can hear us?"

"It's possible, especially since there is no other crew."

Kylan just nodded, his thoughts somewhere else and not catching that the ship had no other crew. One thing he did notice made him stop in his tracks.

"Hey, where's the fighter that came in with you guys?"

Janella chuckled as she walked up the ramp into the freighter.

"It's around. Maybe the captain will give you a tour later."

Then the smile went from Janella's face. Why had she said that? This trip was getting stranger every minute, and the sensation from the part of her that was Istyn was starting to get more insistent.

"So let me get this straight," Neme said from across the conference table, "the Peace Brigade wants to find out who our contact is, so you walked over to us right in front of them? Did I miss something?"

"A little Force persuasion, they became very interested in re-runs of the swoop races that were playing in the café." Kylan tried not to give an arrogant little grin, and only partially succeeded.

"That sounds like a trick Master Skywalker would use," Janella said.

"Actually," Kylan said, looking down at the table, "I learned it from my father."

Janella was quiet for a moment. After some mental math, she looked at Kylan again, and asked, "Your father was a Jedi?"

"No. He never finished his training, though it started at the Jedi Temple. My grandfather was a full Jedi Knight. He was killed protecting the young students at the beginning of the Clone War."

Janella had a strong suspicion where this was heading. "He was at the training center on Kamparas." It wasn't a question.

Kylan stared at her for a moment. "How did you know that? I didn't find that out until I was nearly done with my training."

"What was your grandfather's name?" Janella asked, knowing the next two words she would hear were going to be _Cas Istyn_.

"His name was Terrin Jesak."

Janella was actually surprised. With the feelings she had been getting, she would have sworn that Karris would have been connected….

"He and Master Istyn were tasked with protecting the students when the Clone War started."

And there it was.

The pressure in Janella's mind stopped abruptly, and she knew this is what the sensations had been all about.

"Your grandfather died when the training center was attacked. Istyn and Jesak protected the center while the hired pilots got the kids off-world and to safety."

"I don't get it," Karris said after a moment of stunned silence, "_I_ don't even know that much about what happened."

"Now's not the time," Neme said, speaking up again. "We have gear to get out of here, and we have to do it on the sly.

Kylan stared into Janella's eyes a few more seconds until she broke the contact.

"You're right, Ms. Llows. I'm sorry. The supplies are at a warehouse at the edge of the city. We can move them here, but it's going to take several cargo haulers to get it here. Either that, or a lot of trips with one."

Janella thought for a moment, but it was Neme who spoke up first.

"If the Peace Brigade knows we're here, then we can't bring the supplies in. I think I have a plan, though."

Neme and Kylan brought the last hauler into cargo bay 1672. After they sealed the door, they started moving the gear from the hauler to a hand-driven load-lifter. Across the bay, Janella was working on another lifter. Neme laughed to herself. It seems no matter what else was going on, Jan wasn't at home unless she was up to her elbows in gears and grease.

"How's it going, Jan?" Neme called.

An indistinct mumble came from the general area of Janella.

Neme walked over and leaned over the lifter. "I'm sorry? Could you speak any more incoherently?"

Janella laughed and said "It should be another half-hour, hour at the most."

"Ok, I'm going to take Kylan and go get the _Endeavor_ ready to fly. Make sure you get the remote rigged, and we'll take off as soon as you show up."

There was another mumble that Neme took as consent, and then she led Kylan back to their docking bay.

Watching the landing bay, Rarick Wervoet saw the blonde woman and the young man walk into the bay.

"This is Wervoet to base. Two subjects entering target, no equipment or gear in sight," he said into his comlink.

"Copy, keep an eye on it. The other girl is still out somewhere. She might be arranging the shipment. We have an eye on the space lanes in case they get by you."

"They ain't gettin' by me, Darvin. I'll do my job."

"Copy, Wervoet. We'll see. Base, out."

"How does she know so much about Kamparas?" Kylan asked without preamble.

Neme shook her head, a smile on her face.

_The impatience of youth_, she thought. It didn't matter that Neme was only a year or so older than Karris.

"Believe it or not, I _do_ know the answer to that, but I can't tell you. Jan has a story to tell, but she's the one who has to decide when to tell it, and who gets to be the audience."

"That's not fair, Ms. Llows."

"Please, call me Neme."

"All right, Neme. I was raised by my mother alone because my father was killed when I was young. Not by a Jedi hunter or anything so scary, either. He was shot by a thief robbing a market. I was about seven, and all I had were holodiscs he left for me. I wasn't allowed to watch them until I was thirteen. That's when I learned about my Jedi heritage. It's also when Luke Skywalker was putting together his Jedi Academy. Now, all of a sudden, someone shows up who knows more about my history than I do. You know, and you won't tell me."

"I'm sorry, Kylan. I do think Janella will tell you, if that's any consolation. I think you'll know the whole story, but it can't come from me. I'm sorry," Neme said again, and Kylan saw in her eyes that she wasn't just being difficult.

"Ok," he conceded. "I'll wait. Patience has never been my strong suit, but I'll give it the best I have."

Janella walked into the cockpit to find Neme in the pilot's seat and Kylan in the co-pilot's spot. She dropped into the captain's chair and cleared her throat. Neme and Kylan both jumped at the noise.

"I could get used to this. Fly us out, you mangy curs!"

"Cute," Neme said. "Go back to cargo bay three with your remote, and we'll see about getting out of here."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n," Janella said, laughing as she left the bridge. By the time she got back to the cargo bay, she felt the ship rising. She secured her safety harness to the bulkhead and punched the button that opened the ventral bay door.

Keying the comm, she called the bridge.

"Ready back here, Neme. Get us over to 1672, and we can get off this rock."

"Thirty seconds, Jan."

Janella watched out the bay door, and when the ship slowed, then hovered, Janella saw her jury-rigged load-lifter below her. She thumbed on the remote and the lifter started rising toward the open cargo bay.

"Uh, Jan, is there any chance that you can get that lifter into the bay any quicker?"

"Not really. That's a pretty heavy load. Whatcha got?"

"About half a dozen combat airspeeders coming our way. I think they're gunning for us."

Jan watched the lifter coming up slowly. Then it hit her.

"Neme, take us down, straight down. Slowly."

Without any questions, the ship started to drop toward the landing bay, making the lifter seem to rise faster. Before she knew it, the lifter was in the bay. The bay doors slammed closed and Jan cut the repulsor lift, then yelled at the wall comm, "It's in, Neme. Get us out of here!"

The _Endeavor_ jerked like a broken turbolift back upward. As soon as they cleared the landing bay, Neme hit the sublight engines and rocketed toward space. Hurrying around the edge of the lifter, Jan locked down the maglocks so the platform wouldn't move, then ran to the bridge.

"Where're we at?" she said when she entered the bridge.

"Clear of the airspeeders, almost clear of the atmosphere. I think we skimmed this one pretty close, but we're almost away."

"Thirty seconds to hyperspace," Kylan said.

When the stars blurred to hyperspace, Janella sat back and sighed.

"So ends another great adventure. Neme, do we ever just get a _normal_ cargo run?"

"Nope, that's for lazy and boring people."

The _Endeavor_ dropped out of hyperspace about forty minutes after they jumped. The ship was caught by an unknown gravity source and yanked from lightspeed.

Neme keyed the comm to the kitchen area.

"Jan, you need to fire up the _Shadow_. We have Peace Brigade fighters coming in hot."

To emphasize the point, the _Endeavor_ shook with the first long-range hits.

Janella ran from the galley to the docking bay. Her trusty astromech, having felt the hits against the large ship, had the engines warming.

"Good work, Able," she said as she climbed up the side of the fighter.

Kylan, who had also been in the galley, ran to the bridge and dropped into the weapons-officer station.

"What've we got?"

"Three Uglies, about two klicks out, and two 'vettes at about fifteen klicks," Neme answered tersely.

"Copy, I got 'em."

The ship jolted again, this time from Janella launching her fighter at full throttle.

"_Shadow_ is clear. I have your back, _Endeavor_," came the voice over the comm.

"Negative, _Shadow_, I need you to find out what pulled us out of hyperspace and find us a way around it."

"_Endeavor_, are you sure you can handle the Uglies?" Janella sounded concerned, probably thinking about the short-handed crew on the freighter.

In response, the _Endeavor's_ only turbolaser opened fire and one of the Uglies vanished in a fireball.

"Ahh, _Shadow_, I'd have to say our Ewok can handle them."

"So I see. All right, if you need me, you know where to find me."

Jan activated her sensors, searching for the mass shadow that was preventing hyperspace travel. She found the source about five kilometers below the plane of the fight going on behind her. Putting her fighter into a steep dive, Janella arced toward the source. Looking for a ship that would be creating a gravity well, she almost missed the small heart-shaped blob.

"I don't believe it," she said to herself. "They managed to get a dovin basal."

Jan opened fire, but the creature just opened a small black hole and swallowed all the shots she fired.

"_Shadow _to _Endeavor_, this might take a bit. Our friends seem to have borrowed a toy from their out-of-town pals."

A loud sound came over Jan's headset and she realized it was Neme exhaling hard.

"Copy, _Shadow_. Don't take too long, though. The big boys here are starting to look our way."

"Ok, get ready to jump. Don't wait on me." Jan suddenly got an insight from Cas Istyn. "_Endeavor_, new plan. When you jump, jump for home. Hyperspace at home," she said, enunciating each word clearly. "Do you copy, _Endeavor_."

A hesitation, then "I copy, _Shadow_. Are you sure…?"

"Do it, Nem. I have it on good authority."

"I read you. Clear the way to Hyperspace, and I'll meet you there," and the comm clicked off.

"All right, Great Master. You've showed me where to go, now tell me how to get there.

Then an idea hit her, her's or Cas's, she couldn't tell. Flying directly away from the dovin basal, Jan reprogrammed her one proton torpedo. After the programming was ready, she fired the missile away and turned back in toward the dovin basal.

Looping around it, Janella let her eyes drift shut, counting on Istyn to assist her. Just when she thought he wasn't going to come through, she jerked the trigger before she knew she was going to. Again, the shots disappeared into the defensive void. The timing had been exact. Just as the void swung around to swallow the shots, the torp hit from the other side, destroying the dovin basal.

Neme's voice came over the comm.

"I don't know what you did, and I don't care right now. Tell me all about it when I catch up with you in Hyperspace."

Jan watched the _Endeavor_ jump to light speed. Glancing at her sensors, she saw that the Peace Brigade ships were starting to turn her direction.

"It's time to go. Plot us a jump to a safe area, Able, away from _Endeavor's_ course. We'll get it straight after we lose these mynocks."

Able chirped when the plot was ready. Janella punched in the coordinates and leapt out of harm's way.

Jan had plotted a round-about course to get back home. She had taken such a strange route to shake anyone that may have tried to follow her. After a two-day flight, she dropped out of hyperspace to a sight that made her stomach go cold. Kamparas was surrounded by dozens of warships; freighters, a few frigates, and the ubiquitous Corellian Corvettes.

Fearing the worst, she sent a sensor sweep around the near-space of the Kamparas system.

There, behind a nearby asteroid, she got a return on a ship that could only be the _Endeavor_. The ships in orbit wouldn't have been able to get the same return, but because of the odd approach she had used, she was in the perfect position. Cas's hand at work, no doubt. Using a tight-beam comm link, Janella tried to raise the ship.

"Bantha to Ewok, do you read, Ewok?"

Janella continued to try for several minutes, drifting toward the ship, trying to find a better position for the comm link.

"Ewok, this is Bantha. Glad to see you made it in one piece."

"Open the bay, Ewok. I need a shower."

An hour later, the three-man crew met again around the conference table.

"How could they have linked us to Kamparas so fast?" Kylan asked.

"Well, it's not hard to trace a ship's registry, is it?"

Kylan looked at Neme like she had just announced she was the Emperor Reborn.

"You used your ship's real transponder? No overlay or anything?"

"I don't know what kind of crowd you run with," Neme said, anger creeping into her voice, "but this ship belongs to a legitimate shipping company, not a smuggler."

Kylan actually blushed, and Jan had to hide the smile born of the Jedi's discomfort.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. "I only thought, coming in on a secret run, it would only make sense to…it doesn't matter now," he said hurriedly. He had apparently noticed the heat rising again in Neme's face. "We have to mask it now, or we'll never get through the blockade."

Jan and Neme shared a look before Jan asked the question.

"Why would we need to get past the blockade?" but the answer hit her as soon as the words were out.

"If the Brigade is here, they know that refugees are here…" Kylan started.

Then Neme caught on.

"And if the Brigade knows they're here…"

"Then the Vong know," Janella finished with a shudder.

"Kylan's right," Neme said. Her voice was firm, committed. "We have freighters and pilots down there to move the refugees. There's not even enough time to let the Republic know what's going on."

"Neme, make sure you think this thing through. Even if we do manage to free the pilots, liberate the ships, and rescue the refugees, the _Endeavor_ is your only armed ship, and her and the _Shadow_ aren't enough to punch a hole in the blockade."

Neme looked at Jan and a wicked grin blossomed.

"Llows had problems before you found _Shadow_, Jan. We have a few older-model TIE Interceptors in storage. With you in _Shadow_ and a Jedi leading the fighters…" she gestured toward Kylan, who blushed again.

"Sorry, ladies," he said, "but I'm not a pilot. I've run in simulators quite a bit, but that's basically just a holovid game," he ended with a shrug.

Neme looked at him with mock horror.

"A Jedi who isn't a pilot? You're an abomination!"

All three laughed, but quickly sobered again.

"Ok," Jan finally said, "we have some work to do. Neme, it's your ship so you and Kylan go see about getting a new ID rigged to cover _Endeavor_. I'm going to go consult my…references...to see if I can come up with a plan."

Though Kylan looked confused, he nodded and headed forward with Neme.

Janella walked back toward the hanger where her fighter was stored and climbed into the seat. She sat back and closed her eyes, hoping for…

…_a vision, a freighter captain, taking orders from…_

... "me?" Janella thought…

"_Captain," a deep, masculine voice, "it's time to go. The Federation has decided to make this a slaughter instead of a prisoner raid. It's up to you to get the children through this blockade."_

_Questions from the captains, unintelligible but of clear intent._

"_I and Jedi Jesak will open a path. When the opening presents itself, get clear…_

Janella's eyes snapped open, and she found her face wet with tears. She knew how to free the prisoners on Kamparas, but she knew something more, as well.

"Guys," she called over the comm, her voice thick, "meet me in the conference room," and she cut off the comm.

"He died to save their lives," Kylan said, mostly to himself. Janella had explained everything, including her connection to Cas Istyn.

"It was more than that, Kylan," Janella said, "The feeling I got, Master Istyn didn't expect to survive. He and your grandfather sacrificed themselves to protect the children. There is nothing more selfless I can think of."

Neme noticed a tear in Kylan's eye as he lowered his head. She slid over and put her arm around his shoulder.

Janella noticed the way her friend was looking at Kylan and it struck her how close they were. All the time alone together in the last few days must have sparked something between them. She looked away, suddenly embarrassed to be intruding on the moment.

Just before Janella stood to leave, Kylan looked back at her. His face was composed, but she could see the struggle for control in his eyes.

"Thank you for telling me. It helps. I'm not sure how or why, but I can feel a relief I didn't know I needed."

Janella didn't say anything as Kylan drew a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

"Okay, then," he said, his voice strong, "we have a plan for getting down. The new ID mask is ready. I think we should wait on the escape plan until we find out what resources we can get together dirtside."

"Sounds like a plan, let's get to it," Neme said quickly.

A little too quickly, if Janella knew her friend.

"Ok, what's the deal?"

"Nothing," Neme said.

"She's not happy with the ID I created," Kylan answered with a grin.

"So what did you use?"

"Something fitting, I think. We're now the _Gullible Traveler_."

When Janella started to laugh, Neme could only say one thing:

"Oh, shut up."

"_Traveler_, this is a restricted area. State your business."

"We're out of Nar Shaddaa. We were told there were some…uh, guests… here that need some rations before….uhh…bigger guests arrive. You wouldn't want any cold bodies when they get here." It had been decided that Kylan would handle the comm, since it was known the _Endeavor_ was owned by a woman.

"_Traveler,_ I don't show notice of that delivery."

"Fine," Karris responded with carefully crafted indifference, "I'll just head back and tell them you wouldn't let us through. No plates off my hull."

After a few minutes of silence, the Brigade officer came back on the line.

"We're sending you the coordinates to a landing site. Park your hull there and don't move a thing until you get checked out by us."

After signing off, Kylan turned to Neme and Jan. "See, the old tricks still work. Threaten them with the boss, watch 'em fold."

The _Endeavor_ jolted slightly as it broke through the atmosphere. Janella was stunned when she realized where the landing site was. Her sudden laugh made Neme and Kylan jump.

"What's wrong with you?" Neme asked.

"Didn't you see where we're landing? This lot is clear because of me."

Neme looked out the viewport.

"I don't believe it," she said.

"What am I missing here?" Kylan asked.

"I worked here," Janella said, "moving scrap from point A to point B. This is where I found _Shadow_."

The junk lot Janella had worked in had been converted into an impound yard in the last few days. Any ship that didn't belong to the Peace Brigade had been moved here.

"Not a very smart idea, was it?" Kylan asked rhetorically.

"Well, I see the _Scrapper,_ the_ Lighttrain_, _Bright Corona, Kamparas Tramp, Llows Explorer,_ and _Welldiver_. Five bulk freighters and our biggest shuttle. Not a bad little fleet."

"I see a lot more ships than that, Nem," Kylan said.

"I know, but I only trust the ships I own. The way I have it figured, those six ships have the capacity to lift the refugees with _Endeavor_ and _Shadow_ providing cover. All that we need to do is get the refugees over to the landing field."

The ship settled into its assigned spot and Janella stood.

"I'm going to change. No use looking like a spacer while we're out sneaking around."

"Good idea. I should probably go change, too."

"Neme," Kylan said, "I don't think you could look like a spacer if you tried.

Janella smiled at the couple as she walked away from the cockpit.

Janella changed into an outfit Luke Skywalker had given her a year or so earlier. While the Jedi didn't have a uniform per se, this outfit was considered the "standard" Jedi wear. Janella's version consisted of several muted shades of red, in honor of Kamparas's predominantly red vegetation. One exception to the normal Jedi outfit was that Jan didn't wear Cas Istyn's lightsabre on her belt. Instead, inspired by Skywalker's wife, she had rigged a wrist-holder for the weapon. This meant that she didn't announce herself as a Jedi, but the lightsabre was always at hand in the loose sleeves of the blouse.

Kylan, dressed in a work shirt and utility pants, stopped when he saw Janella at the top of the landing ramp.

"You look more like a Jedi than I do," he said.

"Well, people around here know me, and they know I'm not a Jedi."

"Not exactly," he said with a grin.

"Right, whatever," Janella said, dismissing the reference to her Force connection. "Anyway, you stand out more than I do. You might want to take the sabre off your belt. Not too many people carry them around, you know?"

Kylan glanced down and quickly pulled the lightsabre from his belt and dropped it in the cargo pocket of his pants.

"You said you have Master Istyn's blade. Do you not carry it?"

Janella flipped her wrist, and in one motion had the sabre in hand and ignited.

"Interesting," Kylan said. "You'll have to show me how to rig one of those."

Janella extinguished the lightsabre and hooked it back in the harness.

"Sure, as long as you're willing to wear the flowing sleeves," she answered teasingly.

"Jan, stop making fun of my guy," Neme said, coming into the hallway. "Besides, he would look awful with the baggy shirt."

Neme was wearing a light blue dress, dark blue trousers beneath, and a three-quarter length midnight-blue cape, trimmed in gold at the collar and hem. Her blonde hair was down instead of up in her normal style.

"Geez, Neme, you look like you're planning to buy the blockade."

"She looks perfect to me," Kylan said softly.

"If I thought it would work, I'd try it, Jan." Either she hadn't heard Kylan or was going to pretend she hadn't. "Besides, the cape lets me cover this."

Neme flipped the cape forward over her shoulder to show a custom holster across her back. The holster had a large blaster rifle, the grip at hand if Neme reached behind her.

"Neme! Are you expecting a war out there?"

"Nope," she said, flipping the cape back over her shoulder, "not expecting, just planning for the worst."

Janella laid a hand on Neme's shoulder.

"Neme, before we go out there," she said softly, "you know we can't save everyone here, right? I mean, even with Kylan, we still aren't the heroes that the Skywalkers or Solos are."

"I know, Jan," Neme said, lowering her head for a moment, "but it was my idea to bring the refugees here, so I have to do something."

"We're likely to lose some of them. I just want to make sure you know what we're getting into."

"Yeah, I know. I can't win the war, but each life we _do_ save is one more to keep fighting."

Janella gave Neme a nod and a squeeze on the shoulder, then let go.

"All right, then. Let's go round up some pilots and get off this rock.

Looking over a rise at the Llows Shipping building, Janella waved Neme and Kylan up next to her.

"One guard at the front, nothing at the rear," she advised.

"The back door locks electronically," Neme said. "All they had to do was change the codes and we're…"

"I can take care of the guard," Kylan said.

"So can I," Neme whispered back, "but we need him to keep making check-ins."

"Not a problem. What's that building there, to the left?"

"Storage. We basically emptied it to make refugee housing, but we haven't finished converting it yet."

"Ok," Kylan said, "watch this."

As they watched, Janella noticed a feeling in the back of her mind and realized Kylan was using the Force. All of a sudden, the guard looked around, confused, and jogged away from the front door, around the corner of the empty warehouse, and out of sight.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I made him…uhh…realize…that he was guarding the wrong building. Now he'll keep checking in like nothing's wrong."

"Let's go," Neme said, rising to her feet, "before the change of guard comes along."

When they reached the front door, she placed her hand on what appeared to be the address placard. A soft light ran across her palm and the front door unlocked.

"My dad locked himself out one evening," she shrugged. "He figured it was a good idea to have a safety release on the door."

The trio went through the front door and Janella, acting on instinct, raised a hand and stopped a barrage of debris in mid-flight.

"Stand down," Neme barked, "It's your boss!"

A single head appeared from behind one of the temporary wall dividers.

"Rosha Kre'lya, is that you?"

"Yeah, boss," the Bothan said, "sorry 'bout that."

With that, the pilots and crews came out from their hiding places.

Janella let the pile of rubble drop as Kylan locked the door behind them.

"Rosha, we need to know what's been happening here," Neme said, dropping into a chair behind the reception desk. "Can you give me a quick rundown?"

"The Brigade came in like they owned the place, boss. They found the refugee camp and took everyone up to the secondary school. They tried to round us up with them, but we managed to keep them out. They tried to come in the back way, but they didn't make it much past the loading dock before we drove 'em out. I guess they decided to leave us for the Vong, 'cause they gave up. They changed the code so we couldn't open the back door and stuck the guy with the rifle out front."

"What about the ships," Jan asked. "Did they put any kind of guards on those?"

"Other than the gate guards, I didn't see anything," Rosha said, then gave a predatory grin. "I know they didn't get inside. We have some special security that would have given a nasty surprise to someone without the codes. I did hear someone say they had locked out the controls of all the ships they could get into."

"See," Neme said to Kylan and Jan, "I told you to only trust the Llows ships. All right, troops, listen up." The crews and pilots all gathered around. "We have some things to talk about."

Neme detailed her plans for getting the refugees out of the make-shift prison the Peace Brigade had set up, and for getting them out of the system. After the crews were filled in, assignments were handed out. Each of the freighters was fully crewed and the fighters were given to the best pilots.

"Ok, let's make sure we're on the same screen. We all break out on different vectors, and then we hook back up at our jump-marker near Bespin. Any questions?"

One pilot raised her hand and Neme nodded at her.

"Why are we using the marker instead of just jumping to Bespin itself?"

"Because that's a Llows Shipping marker. Our ships have the beacon, and I don't want to give out the coordinates. Plus, if anyone does decide to follow, they'll assume the target is Bespin and miss our rendezvous."

"You're worried about being able to trust us," the pilot made it a statement, not a question.

"I'm worried about the lives of a thousand refugees. I'll take every advantage I can get toward keeping them safe," Neme said with determination. "Everyone get to your ships, get the ramps down, and be ready to fly. We'll send the refugees your way. Rosha, hold on a second."

"Look," Neme said to the Bothan, "I have a side run to make. When you get to the Bespin marker, broadcast this disk to the other ships." She handed him a small audio disk.

They were in a small office off the lobby. Neme had taken him in here so she could give her orders without the others hearing her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Those are my orders, putting you in charge. I want you to take the convoy and set up camp on Endor. Wait for me there. If things go as plan, you should hear from me in a few days."

"Neme, look, we can't last out there…"

"I know. It's a short-term thing. If you don't hear from me within three days of arrival, there's a contact frequency on the disk. It connects to Viqi Shesh's office. She's the senator in charge of SELCORE, and she'll be able to direct you where to take the refugees."

"Ok, you're the boss," he paused, looking at Neme. "You're going to get your dad, aren't you?"

Neme froze. With everything thing else going on, she hadn't even thought of her father.

"Where do they have him, Rosha?"

"Up at your old summer place. They know he's connected with the _Endeavor_, so they…well, I don't know what they're doing, exactly, but I doubt it's friendly."

Neme nodded, then patted the pilot on the arm.

"Thanks. Now get out of here, Hairball," she said with a forced smile.

Kre'lya didn't smile back. He gave a tight nod and started to walk away.

"Rosha," Neme called, stopping him. "Is there still a speeder in back?"

"Yeah, the old T-38 is still back there."

Neme walked back out into the lobby. Rosha went off to the left to gather his belongings before heading off to the _Llowly Scrapper_, the freighter he would pilot. She looked over and got a nod from Kylan; the guard was still lost at the wrong building.

"Ok," Neme called out to the flight crews, "we have a clear window. Head out in pairs or threes. Get the ships ready and wait for my signals."

Neme waved Jan and Kylan over to her.

"Guys, I've got a problem. I would love to be noble and say I can handle it, but I need some help."

"Neme, you should know better than to ask," Janella said. "Tell me what I need to do, and you know I'm there."

"And I'm not letting you out of my sight," Kylan said. Before Neme could blush, he added, "I mean, you're my ride out of here."

"Ever the gallant Jedi," Neme quipped, then became serious. "Jan, they've got dad."

"The Brigade?"

"Yeah. Rosha said they have him out at the summer house. It's just a little further out than the school. I know you want to help, but we need to get the refugees out of here, too."

"Neme, your dad means a lot to me, and I want to help, but the refugees have to come first."

"Why can't we do both?" Kylan said, breaking into the conversation.

The women both turned to him.

"Well, I mean, it shouldn't take much to get the refugees out. I can handle that while you two go and get Neme's dad."

Jan was ready to object, but Neme stopped her.

"Kylan, you can't take all those guards by yourself."

"Actually," Janella said, getting that look on her face that Neme had learned meant she was getting insight from Istyn, "there will be more guards on your dad. They think he's the key to finding us. Kylan, you need to go with Neme. I'll get the refugees."

"Jan, are you sure? I mean, the refugees are still going to be well guarded."

"Come on, Kylan," Neme said, though she was watching Janella, "first you don't fly, now you're worried about the odds? What kind of Jedi are you?"

"I'm from Agamar, not Corellia," Kylan then gave a lopsided grin that almost gave lie to his statement. "Not that I'm overly worried, just stating a fact."

"Well, stop it. You'll scare the kid."

"I'm only a few years younger than you, Neme, and Kylan only has two on me. I know what I'm doing. Plus, I have a lightsabre, so there," Jan ended with a grin.

"But who bought you that lightsabre?" Neme retorted.

Janella opened and closed her mouth a few times, but nothing came out.

"That's what I thought."

Kylan, who had wisely held his tongue during the banter, interrupted now.

"Last of the crews are out. Our turn."

"This way. There's a speeder in a little hanger area in the back. If dad's in bad shape we'll need it to move him."

When they got to the hanger Kylan spotted their newest hurdle.

"Looks like the Brigade found the bolt-hole, Nem."

There was a large lock-seal securing the bay door to the floor.

"Well, you have the laser blade. Get to cutting," Neme said with a smile.

Kylan ignited his blue blade. Starting at the floor, he cut a vertical line to a meter above the height of the landspeeder. After a horizontal cut the width of the door, he finished with a downward stroke back to the ground. The severed section of the door fell toward the ground, but Kylan caught it with the Force and lowered it without a sound.

"Umm, Ky, you don't think it would have been easier to just cut around the seal and open the door, do you?"

"Probably, but not nearly as dramatic."

Neme shook her head as they climbed into the speeder.

"Let's go. Jan, we'll drop you near the refugee detention area."

Jan crept across a low rise to look into the school grounds. The refugees that were calling Kamparas home has been herded into the play yard, though it didn't appear they were under guard.

Moving up to the fence, she caught the eye of one of the refugees. He checked around himself before walking over to the fence.

"Hey, there. This doesn't seem like the kind of place for a lady like you."

"Well, if you'd like, I can leave and not bother breaking you out of here."

The prisoner looked her over again and nodded to himself.

"I'm Janella Renshir, and we need to get you guys out of here. We have ships being prepped right now."

"I'm Lacton Ames. I used to be a freight hauler, but now I'm mostly just on the run."

"All right, Ames, where are the guards here? I know they didn't just leave you out at recess and hope you'd all play nice."

Ames laughed and pointed toward the school.

"They've set up in the offices and they do have guards on the front door. I assume they have vidlinks out here, but I haven't been able to find the cams. They usually walk out and check the situation about every twenty minutes."

"Well, why don't we just wait a bit and see if we can use that schedule against them."

Kylan and Neme stopped the speeder at the last curve in the path before the summer house. Kylan pulled the speeder off the path, then joined Neme behind a tree overlooking the house. They could see two guards standing by the front door with blaster rifles.

"I'll take care of these guys. Get ready to run so anyone looking out from inside doesn't see us."

Kylan then took off at a sprint toward the house. Before the guards saw him, he sent a mental image that made them start toward the front door. Before they had taken a step in that direction, he had them unconscious on the ground.

Neme caught up to him just as he tossed the second rifle into the shrubs across the road. She had her own rifle in hand and was already moving toward the door.

"Neme, wait!" Kylan called, but he heard shots being fired already, so he rushed in after her.

When he entered the main room of the home, he thought the worst had happened. Neme was lying on the floor near a man tied to a chair, presumably her father, and there were other bodies everywhere. Kylan was about to go searching for whoever had cut Neme down when she sat up abruptly and held out her hand to him.

"Kylan, give me your sabre. I can't get these knots undone."

"I thought you were….but what happened to…"

"Don't worry. They're stunned, I didn't give 'em what they deserve. Now come on, Jan will be waiting on us.

Kylan cut the bonds holding Neme's dad and hoisted the unconscious man over his shoulder. Just as they were about to clear the front door, a blaster shot splintered the frame.

"Looks like Jan's on her own for a bit longer," Kylan said after setting the elder Llows down in a protected area. He looked out and nearly had his head taken off by another shot from the tree line across the road. "I guess someone called in reinforcements."

Very deliberately, Neme moved the switch on her rifle from the lower power setting to the highest.

"These guys aren't going to be as lucky as their friends inside."

Kylan felt the anger coming off of Neme, and one look back at her father's bruised and bloodied face told him not to try and talk her down.

Janella had watched and learned that the guards' checks weren't regular, but they were always between fifteen and twenty five minutes. After watching the most recent round, she sliced a hole in the perimeter fence and started ushering the prisoners into the woods near the school. By moving them two or three at a time, she hoped to prevent the Brigaders inside noticing that their hostage pool was dwindling. The plan worked right until the guards made their next round.

Jan had thought she covered the hole in the fence, but when she returned for another group of prisoners, she saw the guards checking out her handy work, then signaling by comm. At that point, sirens started sounding across the playground. Instinctively, Janella raced up to the fence, through the hole, and cut down the two guards. With a wave of her hand, she tossed their blasters back into the crowd, one to Ames and one to another prisoner, a Bothan, who had been helping coordinate the escape. After they were armed, she turned back with her lightsabre and cut a full section out of the fence to make the rest of the breakout easier.

"C'mon, people, move. The bus is leaving and you don't wanna miss your ride."

Ames was funneling people into the gap on one side, the Bothan on the other, both covering the school building which was just starting to stir with the alarm.

"Good thing these guys are slow on the uptake, eh, Renshir?" Ames called.

"Just as long as they stay slow a little longer. You and your buddy there, run up toward the door. Let a few of them out so we can snatch their weapons. I think we're going to need them to get to the landing field."

Ames nodded and selected a handful of other prisoners to come with him and form up along side the school. When the Peace Brigade soldiers started to come out, Ames and the Bothan opened fire, dropping them in a withering hail of blaster shots. The Brigaders weren't so slow to notice their comrades dropping in piles and they started to hold back, peering around the corners, taking just random shots into the yard.

By this time, Ames and his team had grown to seven armed men. Janella waved Ames over to her.

"Do these guys have a comm system set up here?"

"Not that I've seen. They've been trying to get an antenna set up, but they've not been able to find a way to secure it without us knocking it down. They do, however, have a landspeeder and two speeder bikes. If they wake up, they can get someone down to the landing area a lot faster than we can."

"Ok, send half of these guys to escort the refugees to the landing field. The recognition signal is "bantha". The other half, I want with me to take this site out of play, got it?"

"Yes, sir," Ames answered with a grin and an absurd salute. Janella turned to make sure the refugees were getting clear, wondering if it was possible to keep a few thousand people together and quiet long enough to get all the way to the landing field. When she turned back, five of the armed men were jogging past her toward the fence, while Ames and the Bothan were waiting for her to come over and take the lead.

"I decided three of us going in are better than four. One less chance of someone getting trigger happy. By the way, this is Ekhesh Vra'tre, New Republic Intelligence."

Jan looked like someone had punched her.

"Intelligence…?"

"I'm sorry, did I forget to introduce myself properly? Lacton Ames, Imperial Intelligence. Our two agencies had staged a joint mission to see if there was a possibility of setting up a refugee camp here. Imagine our surprise when…"

"Wait a minute. You're Imperial and Republic Intelligence? That doesn't make sense! Where are the rest of your teams?"

"Like I said, Jan, this was more of a diplomatic meeting than anything. I brought two men with me, Vra'tre brought three."

He started laughing when Jan spun around to see the five newly armed men leading the prisoners away.

"You didn't think we'd give weapons to just _anyone_, did you? Come on, kid, we've got to stop these guys from getting a message out."

With that, Ames stepped carefully through the door into the school. Vra'tre came along side Janella and spoke softly to her.

"Ms. Renshir, I'm sorry for not telling you immediately. Major Ames thought it best…"

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Vra'tre. I don't work for the Senate, so no bad reports will come back on you."

"You don't work for….but aren't you a Jedi?"

"The Jedi don't work for the Senate. Don't worry about it. Just concentrate on gettting these people to safety, ok?" Janella took a few faster steps to get ahead, the Bothan taking up the rear. Janella was relieved she didn't have to explain everything to someone else.

Neme and Kylan watched as the last of the Brigaders tossed his weapon out of the tree line and ran north along the path. After ten furious minutes of Neme blasting away into the woods, the Brigaders decided the better part of their valor was to leave as quickly as possible. One by one, with Neme covering them every step, the soldiers had tossed aside their weapons and ran on foot in the direction away from the landing field.

After the last of the Brigade was out of sight, Kylan, still carrying Corder Llows, followed Neme out of the house and crossed to where they had left the landspeeder. With their injured passenger secured in the rear seat, the pair started back down the path, only to pull up short when they saw a huge group of people moving across under the eyes of five men with rifles.

"This doesn't look good. I wonder where they're taking these guys."

Before Neme could respond, they heard a familiar voice call from the school building on their left.

"Come on, if he gets away, we're done for!"

Knowing that Jan had gotten herself into trouble, Neme wheeled the speeder around without a second thought.

"What about the refugees, Nem?" Kylan asked, trying to find something to hold on to.

"If we don't help Jan, none of us are likely to leave this planet."

Neme brought the speeder to a halt in front of a large garage bay at the side of the school. Just as she was powering down the engines, a speeder bike came shooting from the garage. Neme's speeder came as an unwelcome surprise to the rider, causing him to bank hard to the right. Too hard, as it turned out, since he lost control and fell from two meters. He landed hard on his neck, and the way his head moved as he rolled to a stop told the story. He wasn't going to get back up.

Neme looked back at the garage to see Jan, lightsabre in hand, come bursting through an interior door followed by a human and a Bothan, both with blaster rifles. Jan looked at the broken body of the rider, then back at Neme. The two shared the same shocked look on their faces.

Janella, Ames, and Vra'tre had cleared out half a dozen members of the Brigade by the time they reached the end of the school. Janella's senses were stretched out through the Force. Ames and Vra'tre had fallen back and were checking a few side rooms and closets.

"There's one more, Ames, somewhere ahead and to the right," she called over her shoulder.

Even as she spoke, the trio heard a door slam and a lock bolt

"Come on," she yelled, "if he gets away, we're done for!"

With that, she took off running and rounded the corner. She could hear footsteps behind her as Ames and Vra'tre caught up to her. Behind the door, Jan could hear the whine of a repulsor engine starting and the rattle as a cargo door lifted open. Stepping back, Jan whipped the lightsabre down across the door and kicked it open. As she stepped into the garage, she saw a speeder bike ricochet off the front of a landspeeder parked outside. Jan watched as the rider, the Brigade foot soldier she had been chasing, dropped from the bike and landed on his neck, obviously killing him. By this time Ames and Vra'tre had caught up with her. They all looked to the landspeeder outside, and Janella was shocked and amazed to see her friends sitting there.

Running over to the landspeeder, Janella started talking so fast that she didn't notice Neme was talking at the same time.

"You go first," they both said at the same time, then laughed.

"Jan, all the prisoners are being led away. We don't know where…"

"They're going to the ships, Neme. Those guys were good guys, and they were protecting, not herding."

"But they were….I mean….where did…."

"I'll fill you in later. How's your dad?"

"He's unconscious and hurt, but if we can get him to the _Endeavor'_s sickbay, I think he'll make it. Come on you and….uh…your friends…need to get in so we can get out of here."

"Actually," Ames said, "we have our own ride, but thanks for the offer. Ms. Renshir, it's been a pleasure. Contact me if you need help any time."

Ames took her hand and slipped her a note with a private comm code on it. He turned and nodded to Neme, then he turned to Vra'tre and the two set off into the woods on the opposite side of the school from the landing field.

"That was….unique…" Janella said as she watched them disappear.

Janella and Neme went through the start-up sequence for the _Llows' Endeavor_ before starting to communicate with the other freighters that were loaded with refugees. The _Endeavor_ wasn't carrying additional passengers due to the cargo for the Jedi sanctuary, but she would be the lead ship in the convoy. With the freighter started up, Janella went back to the secret hanger and got Able started on the prep for the _Shadow_. The green and black fighter started to hum with the increase in power.

While the droid was powering up the systems, Jan moved a replacement for the proton torpedo she had fired into position under he fighter. She mounted it on the launch rail and plugged in the connection for Able to engage the tracking system.

Janella changed into her black and green flight suit and keyed the comm to the bridge.

"Neme, I'm ready to fly as soon as we're airborne."

"Before you mount up, come up to the conference room. We have a problem."

The comm went dead and Jan headed out of the bay for the ship's conference room. When she entered, Ames, Vra'tre, and Kylan were there, and Neme was just coming in from the bridge. Ames and Vra'tre were seated at the table while Kylan was leaning against the wall. Through the Force, Janella could tell that Kylan was ready to take down both of the other men if the need arose.

Neme look around at them and took a seat opposite the two intelligence specialist.

"Jan, these two gentlemen are looking for a ride back toward the Core. You know where our route takes us, but since you know them, I figured I'd let you decide what we're doing."

"I thought you said you had your own ride?" Kylan asked, turning to face him.

"Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration. We knew there were a bunch of freight haulers over here, and we figured we'd just, uh, borrow one. We didn't know you'd already recruited them."

"Sorry to ruin your valiant theft ideas," Kylan remarked.

Janella hadn't said anything yet. She was listening to the insights provide to her by Istyn.

"Neme, can I see you in the hall a moment," she finally said. "Kylan, try not to hurt anyone," she added with a smile.

When she and Neme were in the hall and down the corridor a ways from the room, Jan told Neme what was on her mind.

"We have to take them with us, and we have to go with the rest of the convoy to the Bespin rendezvous."

"I don't suppose you can tell me why, huh?"

"No, I'm sorry Neme. I know I've asked you to do stuff like this a lot, and I'm sorry to ask you to do it again."

"You haven't led me wrong yet, so I'll trust you. If that's what Master Istyn and the Force are telling you, then that's what we'll do. Kylan's going to be upset, though. His orders are from Master Skywalker, and he's not going to like yet another diversion."

"This time _I_ have faith in _you_, Captain. I think you can find a way to break it to him gently."

Neme looked shocked for a moment and her face flushed brightly.

"That was a cheap shot, Jan," she said with a chuckle.

They made their way back to the conference room just in time to see Kylan turn off his comlink.

"Neme, your fighter pilots were hit during the fight to get into the landing area. We don't have any cover other than _Shadow_ to get through the blockade."

Janella looked over at Ames and Vra'tre.

"I don't suppose either of you are rated for a TIE Interceptor?"

Both of them shook their heads but Ames spoke up.

"I can't, but one of my men can." With that, he pulled out a comlink and started giving orders.

Again, Janella got an insight through the Force, and this time Kylan inhaled sharply. Jan looked at him and he looked directly in her eyes, and she knew he'd gotten the same message.

"I'm flying the other TIE, Neme," Kylan said.

"Ky, you said yourself you've only flown simulators. This is going to be a real combat operation."

"I know, sweetheart," he said, taking her hands in his, "but the Force tells me where to go and I go. I'll get through this."

"Those TIEs don't even have hyperdrive."

"The _Shadow_ does," Janella interjected. "Her bay is big enough for them to squeeze in. They can help me knock a hole in the blockade, and then dock in my bay. Just make sure you give me the right coordinates, Nem."

Neme looked like she was going to hit someone or throw up or cry or all three, but she took a deep breath and just nodded.

"I guess hanging around Jedi comes with these kinds of risks."

Ames put his comlink away. "My guy is waiting outside," he said.

"Good. You and Vra'tre, you two will stay here on the _Endeavor_ and help Neme with navigation and weapons."

"Ms. Renshir, has anyone told you that you have a habit of taking charge?"

"Well, someone has too, and you were just sitting there," she gave him a smile to soften the blow of her words.

"I'm heading to the cockpit. I've got to let Rosha know there's been a change of plans. Jan, see if there's some flight suits that will fit Ky and Ames' guy, then get ready to fly. Kylan, as soon as you're geared up, come and get me and I'll tell you where the TIEs are."

With that, the five people in the room split up to get ready for one of the toughest fights of their lives.

Kylan approached the bridge wearing one of the Llows' TIE pilot suits. Neme came out of the bridge just before he opened the door. She let the hatch slide closed behind her.

"Kylan," she started, looking down at the floor, "I don't want you to go up there. Those fighters don't have any shields, and those Brigade ships are going to be hitting us hard."

Kylan placed his hand under Neme's chin and lifted her face to look into her eyes.

"I know you don't understand all this Jedi stuff, Nem, but this is something I've got to do. I don't know if it will help save lives, or if it's just to teach me a lesson, but I don't think the Force would lead me into a suicide situation."

"What about your grandfather? Jan's told me what he did, and…"

"That was a different time, Nem. That was a war and there was more at stake than…"

"…innocent war refugees? In case you didn't notice, we _are_ at war, and we have lives at stake too. I just don't want _our_ life together – whatever that might be – to be lost in this fight."

Kylan stared right into Neme's eyes before leaning toward her. The kiss they shared was passionate, and both felt a connection on a level neither could have described. The feeling stretched into what seemed like days, but they pulled apart after just a few moments.

"I'm coming back, Neme. Just you make sure you're here for me to come home to."

The _Endeavor_ lifted from the landing field and started circling, making sure none of the Brigade fighters would attack while the other freighters were lifting. The bay in the belly of the ship opened and Jan dropped out to start circling on the opposite side of the field from the _Endeavor_.

"_Shadow,_ this is _Endeavor_. All ships are lifting clear. Lead us out, if you would."

Jan lifted her fighter and broke through the atmosphere of Kamparas. She glanced back and, for just a moment, felt like she wouldn't make it back to her home. Jan shook off this feeling, since it was coming just from her own fear, not through the Force. She noticed the two TIE Interceptors coming up from the Llows compound behind her and pulled up, making for orbit..

The Peace Brigade ships were still in there, and now two of the corvettes were moving to block the refugees' exit vector. Jan keyed her comm.

"Sabre Flight, we need to knock a hole in this wall. Form up on me. _Endeavor_, this is _Shadow_. We're going to try and clear a path, but it's going to be a fight. We could use that turbolaser of yours."

A double-click was the only acknowledgement. Neme was busy weaving her way through heavy fire already coming from the Brigade ships.

Jan directed the two TIE fighters into flanking positions and all three ships opened fire on the nearest Brigade corvette. They hammered the shields until they saw a flicker across the center of the ship.

"Able, lock onto the reactor with the torpedo and let it fly."

The astromech in the port side of craft activated the tracker head on the proton torpedo slung beneath the ship. Once he had the target locked, he let the lethal sliver of metal loose.

Janella was expecting the torpedo to impact on the shields and blind the sensors for a few moments. What happened was much bigger.

With its shields overloaded from the attacks of the fighters and the freighter, the torpedo punched straight through into the heart of the corvette. Janella noticed that one of their Interceptors was right along side the corvette.

"Sabre Two, get clear! That ship is going to blow!"

There wasn't time, though. The corvette ballooned at the middle for a second before erupting into a miniature sun before vacuum claimed the released energy. Nothing was left but debris.

After a moment of staring in stunned silence, Janella heard Neme's voice break over the comm.

"Jan, tell me that wasn't…"

"Sabre One, still active, _Endeavor_," Kylan's voice broke in on the channel. "In fact, I think you need to open that door for me."

Janella keyed her channel to the whole convoy.

"Shepherd to herd. The gate is open, I repeat, the gate is open. Everyone start your runs."

Kylan blew through the cooling cloud left by the Brigade corvette, followed closely by the _Endeavor_. As soon as they were clear of the debris field, Neme opened the bay doors and Kylan maneuvered his fighter into docking position.

Jan circled the area until she was sure no more of the Brigade ships were moving to intercept the convoy. She saw the first three refugee ships make their jumps to hyperspace.

Janella watched the Interceptor finish docking with the _Endeavor_. Just as the bay doors were sealing, she got a flash of danger through the Force.

"All ships break off, break off _now_!"

The _Endeavor_ vectored away immediately, Neme having worked with Jan for long enough to not second guess her at times like this. The other ships were slower to respond, and so were caught off guard when a Yuuzhan Vong ship erupted from hyperspace.

And erupted was the right word to use.

As soon as it had cleared light speed, the cruiser-analog let fly with wave after wave of heated plasma and molten rocks. Coralskippers started swarming like insects at a picnic.

Jan started to loop back around the _Endeavor_, but Neme's voice came over their private channel.

"Head out, Jan. We can't stay here. I'm jumping the _Endeavor_, and I expect you to be right there with me."

"But the refugees…"

Jan could hear the pain in Neme's voice.

"Jan, we've done what we could."

"We have to go, Jan," Kylan's soft voice came over the comm, "before they bring the dovin basals on-line."

Janella looked around at the unarmed transports getting hammered by the Vong craft. She closed her eyes to the horror of the scene, and the voice of Cas Istyn told her it was time to go.

"Ok," she said, her voice thick with emotion, "I'll meet you at the rendezvous point."

The comm stayed open until the _Endeavor_ jumped. Jan reached up and pulled the hyperspace levers, leaving behind the sight of transports being reeled in by the Yuuzhan Vong."

Bespin was drifting in the distance, little more than a pastel coloured spot against the background of deep space. The _Endeavor_ drifted along side her sister ships, the _Llowly Scrapper_, _Lighttrain_, and _Kamparas Tramp._ These were the only three freighters to make it through the Yuuzhan Vong attack at Kamparas. When the ships had arrived at the Llows marker, Ames had flown the TIE Interceptor over to _Lighttrain_ before Neme docked all four ships together so the captains could have a conference. Janella had docked the _Shadow_ in her bay, and now she was standing along the wall near Kylan in the _Endeavor_'s conference room. Also in attendance were Rosha Kre'lya, Ames, Anika Adella, captain of the _Lighttrain, _and Sian Suun, the Sullustan captain of the _Tramp_. Vra'tre, the New Republic agent, was in the cockpit keeping an eye on the sensors.

Neme, seated at the table's head, knocked on the surface to get everyone's attention.

"Rosha, you need to take Anika and Sian and get the refugees to safety. The _Endeavor _still has a mission to accomplish, and we can't take anyone else with us."

"Ah, yes," the Bothan said, "the super-secret adventures of Jan and Nem."

Everyone around the table chuckled.

"Ames," Neme said when everyone had settled down again, "you'll have to ride in with one of the others. Jan, Ky, and my dad are coming with me, but everyone else has to be loaded on the other ships."

"Ms. Llows, you know that I have clearance for anything relating to the refugee situation, Republic or Imperial, and…"

"I know that, Ames, and I appreciate the offer, but this isn't something you can help us with. This goes beyond government work. Unless there're any other questions, let's get moving and find these people a home."

She stood and walked to the door, letting the others know there was no more room for debate.

Neme and Jan sat in the cockpit and watched the other three ships jump out to lightspeed. Kylan was meditating in his cabin, and Neme's dad was still unconscious due to the medication Neme had given him, so it was just the two women.

"I guess it's time to go," Janella said after the other ships had vanished. "Point this heap toward the Maw and let's go."

"Watch how you talk about my ship, or you're gonna find yourself walking through the black holes."

They both laughed as the stars vanished into the swirl of colours that were the hallmark of faster-than-light travel. Janella decided to take advantage of the first quiet moments they'd had for some time.

"So, what's the real deal with you and the hero back there?"

Jan had the satisfaction of seeing her friend blush as she answered.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Neme blushed even harder when Janella laughed.

"Come on, Nem, this is me you're talking to. No holding back. Besides, I've seen the way you look at each other, and I don't even need Cas to feel the energy between you. You guys haven't really hidden that you have feelings, I just want to know how serious they are."

Neme sighed as she watched the stars flash by outside.

"I don't know, Jan. I would like to say he's everything I've always wanted, but he's so much younger than me. And besides that, he's…."

She stopped and took a deep breath. When she didn't go on immediately, Jan felt the waves of sorrow coming from her friend.

"He's what, Neme? What could be so wrong with him?"

"It's nothing _wrong_ with him, Jan. He's a Jedi. He's a young Jedi, and he wants to get into the thick of this fight. Back at Kamparas, when the other TIE got hit and I thought… What if I get close to him, and he doesn't come back…"

Jan could tell Neme had already gotten that close. She didn't want to admit it, but she was taken with the young man. Through the Force, Jan could tell that Kylan felt the same about her friend.

"Neme, you can't let that stop you."

Before Neme could respond, Janella continued.

"If you're worried about the dangers in this war, you, of all people, know that staying away from the battle isn't enough. Your dad wasn't on the front lines, and…"

Neme's quiet sobs made her stop.

Jan moved to Neme's seat and hugged her friend while she cried.

"There's nothing you can do if bad things are going to happen, Nem," Jan said softly, "The only thing you can do is love your friends and family while you have them and hope for the best. None of us, not even the Jedi, truly know what's going to happen."

After a time, when Neme had calmed down, Jan took her own seat again.

"Get back there, Nem. Go see him, and tell him what you told me. Tell him what you feel. I'll handle things up here.

Neme just nodded and left the bridge. Janella looked down at the systems and saw that they still had about two hours before they dropped from hyperspace to get a bearing fix and throw off any pursuit. She made sure all systems were running in the normal range before she laid her head back, enjoying the silence…

…_of the world as they stood looking at the field around the Jedi complex. Jesak stood nearby, brooding, but calm with himself._

"_Master Istyn, I know we've talked about my feelings for my son, and that won't interfere with what I do here, but..."_

"_You're worried about him, about what's going to happen."_

…Janella heard the voice clearer than ever before…

"_Jedi are not supposed to love, Master Istyn, but I can't help the way I feel. I feel the same fear for all the children, but the feeling is…different… in this case."_

"_Jedi Jesak, did you love the child's mother?"_

"_I did, Master."_

"_And if she hadn't died when the child was born?"_

_Jesak took a deep breath before he answered._

"_Jedi are not allowed to marry, Master Istyn. I would have left the Order to stay with her."_

"_But you wouldn't have had your child, since he would have been taken into the Order himself."_

"_I've thought of that. At the time, I didn't have the same feelings for my son, since he wasn't yet born."_

"_Terrin, life works out as it will. You and your son were both meant to remain with the Order. It is hard to see, but it's the same reason both of you are here, at this moment."_

"_You're saying it's ok that I loved her, and him?"_

"_I'm not like most Jedi, Terrin. In this life, you take the happiness you can find for the time it's available. To do anything else would make you less than human…"_

Janella sat up at the chime from the navicomputer. She glanced around and saw that she was still alone. The echo of Cas's last sentence was still in her mind as she brought the ship down from lightspeed and plotted the next jump. She felt a wash of contentment throughout the ship, and for the first time she _felt_ the Force, not as a second-hand feeling, but as a part of her. She and Cas were no longer separate, but were now one in the Force.

Janella maneuvered the _Endeavor_ to the plotted start point for the run into the Maw. The cockpit was a little more crowded now, with Jan in the pilot's seat, Kylan at her side, and Neme and Corder Llows in the second seats. Jan had plotted the first leg of the course based on information Master Skywalker had given her, but after that it was going to be flying purely on instinct. That's why she had wanted Kylan as her co-pilot. Another set of "eyes", as it were, would be a great help to make sure she didn't kill them all.

"Yeah, we definitely would want that to happen," Kylan said with a grin.

"You know," Jan said, a mock glare directed at Kylan, "that's really irritating."

"I know, but it's worth it to get that look." Kylan started laughing.

"Great," Jan said, "six thousand black holes and I have to make the run with the galaxy's worst comedian. Plot a course of two-seven-nine mark three-eight and try and keep us from being squashed, ok?"

"Sure, fine, whatever. You take all the fun out of flying through black holes."

Jan smiled to herself. It was good to see spirits back up after the mess at Kamparas. She could even feel less sadness coming from Neme. Apparently their talk the night before had helped.

She shook the thoughts of friends from her head. She needed to concentrate on what she was doing. Letting her eyes drift closed, she reached out with all of her abilities and _felt _her way through the space around her. Ahead she "saw" the safe path as a tunnel, with yellow and red to the sides representing the gravity wells of the Maw. She constantly made minor course corrections to avoid contacting any of those danger spots, her fingers dancing over the control board, seemingly of their own accord.

Jan sent a burst of thought to Kylan, who slapped the emergency-stop switch in the center of the console. She heard the others in the cockpit groan from being pressed against their restraints.

"Sorry about that, folks," she said. "That one came up a little fast."

Kylan was looking over the sensor board and noticed the small gravity well that was in front of them.

"I would have never have seen that on the sensors. Glad you gave me the heads up to stop us."

The group had decided that Janella would act as the scout for the run, using Cas's greater skills in the Force to find the gravity wells. If something unexpected happened, she would communicate to Kylan through the Force so there was an immediate reaction.

"All right, new course set to avoid that little bump, and we're ready to go. Kylan, this time let's take it at two-thirds speed. Maybe that will give a little cushion."

Kylan nodded and set himself to work bringing the ship around to the new course and back up to speed.

The rest of the trip passed in relative quiet. Two other times Janella had to signal to Kylan, but he managed to stop the ship somewhat less abruptly each time. After what felt to Jan like an eternity, they arrived in the center of the Maw.

In front of them, barely visible through the viewport, was a jumbled collection of space station components, cargo containers, and other various shapes and pieces.

The comm chirped with an incoming inquiry. Kylan looked to Jan, but she waved her hand, letting him handle the contact with the base.

"Maw installation, this is Bantha flight."

"Bantha flight, Maw base here. Hope the trip wasn't too rough."

"Nothing to it, Maw. Please advise best approach vector so we can dock and complete this mission."

"Bantha, keep coming straight in. There's an automated beacon that will lead you in from the fifty kilometer mark. Any special handling we need to be aware of?"

Kylan glanced over at Janella again who just nodded for him to proceed.

"Maw, before we land we will launch a fighter that will need separate berthing. We also have one wounded passenger who needs better medical attention than we could provide."

There were several moments of silence before the voice came back over the comm.

"Bantha, say again? You have a passenger? We were advised to expect two crew and one Jedi."

"Plans changed, Maw. I'll give you the full run-down when we dock."

"Negative, Bantha. You know the purpose of this installation. We can't have anyone unexpected just wandering around."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Neme asked in disbelief. "My dad wasn't on the cargo manifest, so now he's a threat?"

"Maw," Janella said to the comm, "this is Renshir. Authorization code Aleph-Delta-Shadow. By my authority, we will be landing and crew will be allowed full access to the installation."

A longer silence. Neme looked at Jan, who muted the comm pick-up.

"Master Skywalker thought something like this might come up, so he wanted to make sure we weren't held up." She shrugged, showing that she hadn't thought much of it.

"And he didn't warn us about my father?" Neme was starting to let her anger get to her. Kylan calmed her down.

"He wouldn't have known, Nem. It doesn't work that way. If he thought something was going to happen, he wouldn't have known exactly what, and if he had, he would have given us fair warning."

Neme sat back, but she still looked hurt.

"Bantha, code clearance confirmed. Proceed as scheduled. Administrator Calrissian will meet you in the landing bay."

The comm clicked off.

"Gee, some people get their feelings hurt so badly when they can't boss you around." Kylan looked over at Jan. "You better go head out in the _Shadow_. It looks like we should reach the bay in about ten minutes."

Janella let Kylan and Neme take the _Endeavor_ in first, and watched as she settled to the deck in the main landing bay. Bringing the _Shadow_ in, she looped around on repulsor until her lasers we covering the ramp on the larger ship. She knew this was a friendly base, but after the greeting they had received, she didn't want someone getting overly pushy with her friends.

The interior door to the base opened and a man walked in, his short cape flapping behind him. It took Janella a moment to recognize him, but when she did, she was stunned. She had, of course, recognized the name over the comm, but she didn't think he would be here himself. She finished her power-down and climbed from the cockpit just as Neme was helping her father down the ramp, Kylan right behind.

Everyone met in the open space between the two starships.

"Welcome to Shelter," the man in the cape said, his voice a rich tenor. "I'm Lando Calrissian, and I'll be your host during your stay."

It was the others' turn to look stunned Obviously they had not recognized Calrissian until he introduced himself. Janella had gotten over her shock, so she took the lead offering her hand to him.

"I'm Janella Renshir, Administrator. We've come with the supplies Master Skywalker asked us to bring. Sorry we're late. Let me introduce my…crew, I guess." Janella laughed at the thought of "her crew," and was relieved when Calrissian chuckled, also. "This is Neme Llows, president of Llows shipping and captain of the _Llows Endeavor_. Jedi Knight Kylan Karris. And the unexpected passenger is Corder Llows, Neme's father."

Calrissian nodded to each in turn, and received greetings from Neme and Kylan. Corder looked to be slipping back into shock with the rough ride out of Kamparas. Calrissian glanced back and waved a medteam forward with a stretcher.

"I'm sorry about the little…incident…when you arrived. Security is pretty tight here, and for good reason, but I know Luke wouldn't have wanted that to happen. How is it that your father came to be wounded, Ms. Llows?"

Neme helped the medics get her father secured to the stretcher before she turned to answer.

"The Peace Brigade caught onto us on Acacia, and they traced the _Endeavor_ back to my company. They got there before us and figured my dad would have information on what we were up to."

Lando looked pensive for a moment, and then nodded, almost to himself.

"Again, I'm sorry for the delay, but we'll give him the best care we have. And, if it doesn't sound too much like bragging, that care is pretty good here." He flashed the smile that had made him the target of so many newscasts in the early days of the New Republic. "Come on, after such a rough trip, you all deserve some refreshment and relaxation. I'll show you to your suite.

After a few weeks at the Maw base, things seemed to have settled back to normal. The suite they shared had three separate rooms, since that's how many people the base had been told to make room for. Neme and Kylan were sharing a room, Janella had a large room all to herself, and the third bedroom in the suite had been converted into a miniature sick-bay room for Corder. Neme's father was already stronger, and after several days in a bacta tank and several more days in bed, he was sitting with the rest of them in the common living room. Lando Calrissian had gotten them settled in, then he left the base, saying something about selling some droids to the Republic.

"So what's the plan from here?" Corder asked. "Do we just hang out while the war rages?"

"Well, dad, whatever the rest of us do, I think you're going to sit this fight out."

Corder flopped back in his seat, looking disgusted, but the quick look of pain that went across his face was silent evidence of Neme's wisdom.

"What about you, Nem," Jan asked, "ready to pack it in and send me and your guy here back out into the fire?"

Neme and Kylan trade a look, then started to laugh.

"What? What'd I say?"

"Jan, you remember what we talked about on the way here?"

She did remember. Neme was worried what would happen if she fell for Kylan and he was killed in the war.

"Well, Kylan had a message here from Master Skywalker," she looked to Ky.

"He offered me the choice to either join him in the fight, on the front line, or to stay here, and teach the younger Jedi some of the ways of the Force. Even after all my talk of wanting to get into the fight, I think I would be better served here, teaching what I've already learned. I just don't think there's anything more important I could be doing right now."

Jan felt a stirring in her mind, and she smiled, knowing what Cas would have said.

"Kylan, I think teaching the children here rather than going and possibly getting killed is the best thing you could do to honor your grandfather."

Kylan looked surprised by that statement, but looking at Jan and the somewhat distant look in her eyes, he understood that she knew exactly what she was talking about.

"So anyway," he said after a moment, "while I hang out and play babysitter, Neme wants to get back to running cargo for the refugees."

It took Janella a moment for that to sink in.

"Neme, you're going back out?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping _we_ would be going back out. We're a pretty good team, after all. I'll understand if you'd rather stay here, though…"

"No! I mean, I was planning on going anyway, but I thought you…and with Kylan…"

Kylan and Neme laughed again.

"I have to, Jan, I have to get out there and help. Besides, I can't let Rosha wander around with three of my ships, can I?"

Jan was still shocked, but she smiled anyway.

"You know me and my _Shadow_ will be right with you. Were you planning on staying here, getting some downtime, or …"

One of the base support staff came through the door, a grim look on his face.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we just received a communication from Administrator Calrissian. I thought you should see it immediately."

He handed over a printed copy of the message. As Janella read the message, Kylan felt waves of sorrow and anger coming from her through the Force.

"What is it, Jan?" he asked.

"Coruscant."

The others looked at each other, then back to her.

"The capital fell to the Vong," she looked up, tears in her eyes. "We've lost Coruscant."

**To Be Concluded…**


End file.
